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Sunday, September 15, 2013

iOS 7 and it's potential for ROBLOX's Mobile Applications

My home screen.

So in case you haven't figured by now, I am a proud PC user, a self-proclaimed technologist and media mind. The only thing "Apple" about me is my phone, an iPhone 4S that I've had for almost a year now.

Set aside this being 9/14/13 (four days before iOS 7 really releases) when I am writing this, I've already had the demonstrative ability to test a variety of iOS7 features for a good five days now, as well as be spooked by the foolery of a "3D perception" in this particular version of iOS (where the background literally appears not to move, but the icons do.)

It started to hit me some more, that ROBLOX has some absurdly high potential to utilize iOS7 to a superb advantage of mobile game development.

Here are three ways ROBLOX can use iOS 7 to make a new era of mobile gaming.1. Light Design
ROBLOX has a very discoloured design right now. It's app is highly blue (not to forget an annoying colour of blue) and it hasn't yet been optimized for something like iOS 7. The entire design is solid. It isn't transparent, and there is no harmony in colors. But on the home screen, you see perception; this perception is the clearest way to give a totally nice and completely elegant new design to the ROBLOX game application as well as match the wonderful aesthetic already put up by iOS7. An example of the transparency is another iOS 7 feature to the left. The new "Mission Control" has a sort of blurring beauty to it that is both great at the same time just as helpful and it fits right into the operating system.

ROBLOX has not adapted that yet; and it would be great to see that happen.

2. iOS 7 Auto-Update
This is more of a choice for users, but iOS7 has presented a new feature where apps will auto update when plugged in or connected to WiFi. It's a great feature, and if ROBLOX had it's users using this; they could get valuable updates to their users immediately when needed; instead of waiting for all users to catch up on it.

3. Multitasking

Introducing the new Multitasking on iOS 7 to an app as gamer-friendly as ROBLOX is essential. If you had the ability to be playing your ROBLOX game and lets say you got a text, or an email, you should be able to use the multitask to continue your game in the background and respond to that text or email immediately. It's a must-need.

Lets say I want to upload a screenshot I just got from my ROBLOX game; but I don't want to leave that game on mobile. I want to send it via text to a few friends and get a link for the upload to send to my friends on Steam. What i'll want to do is use the multitask feature (double click on home button) and go to the text, and send it to that person then use my favourite upload program (puu.sh) to upload it to the cloud so I can send that link to my Steam friends.

Multitasking is a must-have for this new era of iOS7 gaming and applications and if ROBLOX fails to adapt to continuation of gaming in the background, it's going to be very difficult to do things you need to do at a certain time.

While iOS 7 isn't released (at least at the time this is being written) all you fine people will acquire the update and update on the eighteenth and get to try new things for yourself. Updating now just to play ROBLOX isn't worth it, as the ROBLOX app usually crashes; but I will do another article on the "post-iOS 7 release ROBLOX application" when that time comes.

Soon, I will also be launching another article on how ROBLOX (and other mobile games) can be seriously affected by 64-bit phones (iPhone 5S) and you'll see that soon!